Major Gulf markets subdued on soft oil prices

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Major stock markets in the Gulf were subdued in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by soft oil prices with trading volumes thin in the absence of foreign investors during the Christmas holidays.Oil, a driver for the Gulf's financial markets, settled marginally lower on Wednesday and prices were on course for their steepest annual decline since 2020 as investors weighed U.S. economic growth and assessed the risk of supply disruptions from Venezuela and Russia.Lower crude prices and disruptions to oil exports affect the fiscal balances of oil-dependent countries.Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TADAWUL:TASI edged 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.4% rise in ACWA Power Company TADAWUL:2082.Elsewhere, shares in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco TADAWUL:2222 was flat.Dubai's main share index DFM:DFMGI eased 0.2%, dragged down by a 0.7% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties DFM:EMAAR.In Abu Dhabi, the index ADX:FADGI slipped 0.1%.The Qatari benchmark gauge QSE:GNRI was down 0.3%, with Qatar Islamic Bank QSE:QIBK falling 0.5%.

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